Central Vermont Tech Firm Wins Innovation of the Year AwardAward-winning high-tech security firm expands with support from VCET

Berlin, Vt. – Cyber security firm Pwnie Express (pronounced “pony”) has been named a 2012 Innovator of the Year by SC Magazine – a leading industry publication – for its unique line of network vulnerability testing equipment.

The firm’s innovative penetration testing equipment and services allow data security experts within large organizations to quickly and easily find weaknesses in computer networks. The company’s products and services have piqued the interest of cyber defense and network security contractors nationwide.

Pwnie Express’s growth within corporate networks and for penetration testing across distributed locations could be most aptly described as “meteoric.” Customers include many of the nation’s top financial institutions, many U.S. security and defense organizations, and a rapidly growing list of large retailers and owners of critical public infrastructure, such as utilities.

Almost two years ago, Pwnie Express was a bootstrapped, part-time venture operated out of founder David Porcello’s house in Barre, Vt. On November 30, Pwnie Express graduated from a year of mentoring and business incubation with the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET). The company has just expanded into their new headquarters and research office in Berlin, Vt. They now employ 10 and are in select hiring mode. Pwnie Express’s revenue has grown threefold in a single year.

“I had the idea for our product while I was working at a local insurance company,” said Porcello. “I called up VCET and the team gave us the mentoring and guidance we needed to take the plunge and start our own business. And now our approach to cyber security has blown everyone away.”

“Pwnie Express is a great example of a firm that benefited from the innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem that the Vermont Technology Council and I envisioned when we stood up VCET,” said US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). “The public sector as a rule may not directly create jobs, but it has a key role in creating catalysts that can motivate entrepreneurs – from facilities, to technical assistance, to funding. Pwnie’s accolades are proof that next-generation ideas can grow and flourish here in Vermont.”

In late October, the company received investments from the Vermont Seed Capital Fund, LP, and a prominent Boston-based venture firm with significant security domain expertise. Pwnie Express is the Vermont Seed Capital Fund’s eleventh company investment since May 2010. A VCET subsidiary is the fund manager of the Vermont Seed Capital Fund, LP.

The cyber security sector has high growth potential in Vermont as there are “cluster benefits” with Norwich University and Champlain College programs around cyber security and digital forensics, in addition to other Vermont companies focused on this area. Cluster benefits occur when resources such as colleges or several employers attract a higher density of experts and entrepreneurs to remain in, or move into, an area.

“This is exactly how we work,” explained David Bradbury, VCET President. “Our team of professionals, interns and expert volunteers work quietly with small tech companies and aspiring entrepreneurs every day like Pwnie Express. Through heavy mentoring, intense incubation efforts and at times investment, we can help them grow in Vermont and pursue their potential.”

“Entrepreneurs like David Porcello are in a critically important industry sector that will contribute to the future economic viability of central Vermont,” said Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation Executive Vice President Sam Andersen. “Additionally, their partnerships with institutions of higher education help to enhance the relationship between business and education and also provide employment opportunities.”

VCET’s role within Vermont’s innovation ecosystem is to mentor and incubate similar companies and entrepreneurs across Vermont and within area colleges and universities. VCET assisted 191 Vermont-based startups and aspiring entrepreneurs last year alone, up 108 percent from the year prior.

“We are constantly serving tech startups and entrepreneurs that have high growth potential in our state like Pwnie Express. There is an economic multiplier effect from a modest investment of time, our specific skills and the seed fund’s risk capital helping to add jobs and generate new state revenues,” said Bradbury.

About Pwnie ExpressPwnie Express is the premier global provider of innovative, cost effective, rapid deployment penetration testing products. Their products have been incorporated into the cyber-security toolboxes of over one hundred security service providers, several Fortune 50 companies and various federal agencies. They have recently been featured in Wired.com, The information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Journal, Ars Technica, PC Magazine, and Slashdot. The Pwn Plug has been named as the Editors Choice in PC Magazine and Pwnie Express has been named by CIO On-line as one of the 7 hottest security companies to watch. For more information on Pwnie Express, visit http://pwnieexpress.com.

About Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET)VCET is technology firm incubation program serving all of Vermont to help create next-generation jobs for this generation of Vermonters. Select, high-opportunity firms and entrepreneurs receive substantive business mentoring, flexible office space, shared resources, capital formation assistance, workshops, and access to VCET’s proprietary “talent cloud” of mentors, executives, venture capital investors, and economic development partners. Since 2008, VCET has directly assisted over 500 startups and entrepreneurs across Vermont. VCET is an independent 501(c)3 organization. www.VermontTechnologies.com

About Vermont Seed Capital Fund, LPThe Vermont Seed Capital Fund is a $5M for-profit, permanently revolving, early-stage risk capital fund professionally managed by the VCET Capital Corporation, a subsidiary of the non-profit Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET). Launched in May 2010, the Fund was created by the State of Vermont which committed $4M. The VCET organization invested $1M into the fund with the support of US Senator Patrick J. Leahy. As of October 2012, the Fund has invested in 11 companies from a target of 17 firms during its first revolve. www.VermontTechnologies.com/capital